Griffin Canning was drafted by the Angels in the second round out of UCLA in 2017 and since then has been viewed as the future of the Angels rotation. He made his big league debut last year and posted a roughly league average ERA in 18 games, 17 of which came as a starter. Just yesterday manager Joe Maddon said Canning is, “going to be very significant for us this year and for years to come.”

Which makes today’s news less than welcoming: Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times just tweeted that Canning is going in for an MRI. No word yet on what that’s all about, but it’s usually bad news when pitchers head in for MRIs. UPDATE: It’s a sore elbow.

Canning is currently fourth on the Angels’ rotation depth chart behind Andrew Heaney, Julio Teherán, and Dylan Bundy, but they are definitely counting on him to be something greater than a fourth starter. Here’s hoping the news on him is not bad.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher has reversed course and will continue to pay minor leaguers. Fisher tells Slusser, “I concluded I made a mistake.” He said he is also setting up an assistance fund for furloughed employees.

The A’s decided in late May to stop paying paying minor leaguers as of June 1, which was the earliest date on which any club could do so after an MLB-wide agreement to pay minor leaguers through May 31 expired. In the event, the A’s were the only team to stop paying the $400/week stipends to players before the end of June. Some teams, notable the Royals and Twins, promised to keep the payments up through August 31, which is when the minor league season would’ve ended. The Washington Nationals decided to lop off $100 of the stipends last week but, after a day’s worth of blowback from the media and fans, reversed course themselves.

An @sfchronicle exclusive: A's owner John Fisher reverses course, apologizes: team will pay minor-leaguers; "I concluded I made a mistake," he tells me. He's also setting up an assistance fund for furloughed employees: https://t.co/8HUBkFAaBx)